


I Don't Want To

by acchica2527



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, Hosie, Legacies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-03-13 06:25:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18935260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acchica2527/pseuds/acchica2527
Summary: Au post episode 1X12. Inspired by Alessia Cara's song "I Don't Want To", story suggestion by elizajcareyJosie has had a crush on Hope since she was 13, at the time she didn’t have the courage to tell the older girl about her feelings. So Josie starts to write it all down in a song.What happens when past feelings are revealed, a song is finally finished and a familiar melody is heard.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, here is one of those new stories I mentioned I've been working on lately and yes it is another song inspired story. I wanted to try something a little different with the use of the song in this story, hopefully it works out how I've seen it in my head. 
> 
> Like always thank you all again for checking out this story, it's very much appreciated! Apologies like always for any spelling or grammatical errors. Hope you all enjoy.
> 
> Oh and s/o again to elizajcarey for the song suggestion!

It had been about a week since Josie had made her big confession to her sister and to Hope. Finally revealing to them the secrets and lies she’s kept from them these past three years. Josie expected them both to hate her, to never want to speak to her again, to completely shut her out but they didn’t. Lizzie had only needed a day to process everything Josie had told her, before she confronted her sister for more answers. After their discussion Lizzie just gave Josie a smile and hugged her tightly, forgiving Josie and asking for Josie to forgive her for being a bad sister. With that the twins were good, some would even say they were even closer now than they have been for awhile.

 

Then there was Hope, Hope didn’t even seem to care, practically forgiving Josie almost instantly. When Josie told her she was the one to burn basically half of her things on accident Hope was shocked but when she said it was because of her secret crush on her, Josie noticed this slight change in Hope’s expression. She didn’t really know how to describe it, but it was pretty much the exact opposite of what Josie expected. Hope seemed to have completely forgotten the details about Josies lies and all she focused on was the fact that Josie had a crush on her. Josie didn’t understand it and don’t even get her started on the look Hope gave her after she answered her question with, “Of course I did, who wouldn’t?” Somehow it felt like her heart had stopped and was racing all at the same time when Hope gave her that smile.

 

After that night it seemed like everything was okay between all of them and Josie expected things to maybe go back to normal but they didn’t. It wasn’t necessarily awkward between the two, but Josie started to notice some little changes between them. Hope’s smile seemed a little brighter whenever Josie saw her, whenever they touched for whatever the reason they seemed to last a little longer, the looks they seemed to give each other in the halls felt like there was more behind them. It all started to mess with her head and Josie started to pull away a little bit.

 

Josie was getting anxious, her mind wouldn’t stop, all her thoughts had been revolving around Hope. What did all of this mean? Hope was still with Landon and bringing up her past feelings for Hope scared Josie, if she was being honest with herself Josie was pretty sure her crush for Hope never fully went away. Josie could feel those emotions starting to stir again and with how Hope reacted to her confession it confused her even more. She feared the other shoe was finally going to drop and everything between them would be ruined. She liked having Hope as a friend, she was so happy that everything seemed to be forgiven and forgotten but something inside her wanted more, but she knew she couldn’t.

 

Josie’s mind wouldn’t stop so she tried to busy herself with anything to try and distract herself from what was going on in her head. She went to her closest and decided to do a little spring cleaning even though it definitely wasn’t spring. She started to pull out some of her plastic bins from the side of her closet when she suddenly stopped finding her old guitar case hidden behind them. Josie pulled the guitar case out of her closet as if it was some delicate flower that would break if she moved to quickly, looking at it in pure amazement.

 

She hadn’t touched her guitar for maybe 2 years, her ukulele has always been more convenient to carry around with her and with it tucked away into her closet Josie realized she basically forgotten about the instrument. She opened up the case to see the guitar she’s had since she was 10, it brought a smile to Josie’s lips to see the familiar cedar wood topped and maple wood backed guitar. Josie ran her fingers against the strings trying to remember the last time she had played it before she decided to pull it out from its case. As Josie was about to shut it something at the bottom of it caught her attention, she shifted her gaze to find one of her old lyric notebooks laying in the case.

 

“Oh my god,” Josie whispered to herself realizing what it was. She picked up the warn down looking notebook and guitar and walked over to her desk, quickly taking a seat as she began flipping through the pages of her old song book.

 

It was filled with all of her old poems and songs she had written when she was younger. Josie had always been a fan of poetry and the way people could evoke emotions simply through words, so she tried to write her own. When she first started none of it was really that spectacular or really emotionally driven, most of this stuff was from before she had reached the double digit age. As Josie continued to flip through the pages she could start to see the change in her writing style she could tell when she was in her early teens, when she started to think she actually knew what things like love were. Josie would write when her mind would be racing or just too cloudy to think straight. She wrote when she was anxious or scared or just feeling too much. For some reason some days it was like her brain could only process things in rhyme, it was honestly a bit strange but it helped when she wanted to write a good poem or even a song. Josie kept flipping through the pages until she got to the last page that had writing on it and for a second Josie forgot how to breathe.

 

_*Two Years Ago*_

 

_3 weeks had past since Hope had left school and gone back to New Orleans. Rumors had been swirling around about what was happening with her and why she had been gone for so long. Josie hated it, she hated hearing all the gossip and crazy ideas people were coming up with, some of them sounding completely absurd and ridiculous. Josie hated that she didn’t know what was really going on with the older girl._

 

_The two of them have always had this “interesting” relationship, they’ve never really been friends but they weren’t really enemies. They would talk in class but not too much more than what was needed for assignments, they would smile at each other whenever they saw each other in the halls, but Hope always kept her distance never really looking to interact outside of the classroom. Whenever Lizzie was involved there was always some sort of poking included, although it typically wasn’t directed at Josie, it still hurt her knowing what Hope was doing was a jab at her sister. While Hope could be cold to most people, for some reason it seemed she never could be to Josie, Josie was the exception to a lot of things when it came to Hope Mikaelson._

 

_Josie didn’t believe it when one of the other witches told her Hope had a soft spot for her, she thought they were just teasing her because she had been staring at Hope a little too long in class one day. She didn’t believe it, until she heard Hope had punched the vamp that had embarrassed her at breakfast, in the face only a few hours later. She actually believed it when she saw the black eye Hope gave the older boy when Josie was walking past her dad’s office. Josie had caught sight of Hope walking out of his office, clearly just getting done being lectured by her father. “Hey Hope wait!” Josie had called out to her as she jogged over to catch up to the older girl._

 

_Hope had froze for a moment hearing her name called out, raising her head from the ground to look who was calling. A shy smile appeared on her face as she looked up at Josie as she finally caught up to her, “Hey Josie.” but before Josie could say anything Hope started to turn to continue down the hallway._

 

_Without even thinking Josie quickly reached out and took hold of Hope’s hand, “Hope,” Josie spoke softly almost worried she would scare off the older girl, “thank you.”_

 

_Hope turned back to Josie with her signature smirk on her lips. She gave Josie’s hand a gentle squeeze and winks at her before she heads back down the hall probably back to her room. Josie could feel her cheeks heating up and her heart pounding in her chest from their interaction. Her mind was racing thinking about the girl she had been developing feeling for, Josie thought she had pushed those feelings aside after she had her panic moment last year when she practically set Hope’s entire room on fire after she had left her that note. But her she was again, falling hard for the older girl._

 

_As Josie made it back to her room that night she still couldn’t get her thoughts about Hope to settle down, she needed to clear her mind some how, so she decided to write. She flipped her notebook open to the first blank page and started writing._

 

**_You went and turned a red flag white_ **

**_Darling and you waved it_ **

**_You've always had a way with words_ **

**_Why can't you explain it then?_ **

 

_After the fire incident and the lies she had told Lizzie to keep her crush on Hope a secret, Josie saw the rift that everything she had done caused between them but now it seem like Hope was easing up on them. Josie just wanted Hope to talk to her and tell her why? Why now? She needed Hope to explain to her what was going on._

 

**_Every little thing is reminding me of you_ **

**_Yes, I'll set fire to my whole room (Ah, ah, ah)_ **

 

_Josie had to laugh at herself for that little bit. Hope once again started to consume her thoughts like a fire and it seemed like everywhere she looked there she was._

 

_That was the first time she had started writing about Hope and now her she was a few months later, again scribbling down more of her thoughts and feelings about the older girl that was miles away from her in the middle of the night._

 

**_So what are you doing tonight?_ **

**_'Cause I miss you and I_ **

**_And I can't even lie I need you_ **

**_I could get on a flight, I could make up the time_ **

**_I know I'm out of line, can I see you?_ **

 

_Even though they barely talked, Josie missed Hope. She missed seeing those gorgeous blue eyes, she missed catching glimpses of her smile, she missed the girl that Josie knew would defend her or protect her without her even asking. Josie missed her and she just wished she knew if she was okay._

 

_When Hope finally returned to school the news of what happened to her parents spread like wildfire. Josie’s heart broke for Hope, it’s hard enough to lose one parent but to lose both of your parents along with your uncle in such a short period of time, it amazed her that Hope had returned at all. Josie couldn’t even imagine the kind of pain Hope had to be in. She just wanted to walk up to Hope and give her a hug, to tell her she was there for her, but she couldn’t not with their past in the way. With the pokes and the distance between them, even if Hope did have a soft spot for her Josie knew she would be crossing some line._

 

_Josie can feel herself looking at Hope a little longer than she should whenever she sees her in the halls or in class, just wishing Hope would look up at her, to smile at her again. She wants Hope to know she’s not alone but Josie just didn’t know how. So again Josie began to write._

 

**_I double take at every phone that rings out of habit_ **

**_I can't shake the little things, they're harder to manage, whoa_ **

**_I can't bury the past, but I'll bury the hatchet_ **

**_Can we just pretend that this never happened?_ **

 

_Josie was just staring at the page thinking if there was something she could possibly do to help Hope when she suddenly hear Lizzie’s voice calling her from in the hall, “JOSIE ARE YOU IN THERE!”_

 

_“Shit!” Josie whisper yelled to herself quickly shuttling her notebook and throwing into her guitar case trying to hide it from her sister. She did not need Lizzie to find her writing about Hope, so she frantically hid her notebook and guitar case into her closet trying to avoid any question. Just as Josie shut her closet door Lizzie came through their bedroom door. “Hey Lizzie what’s up?”_

 

_“Did you forget we’ve got a new student we are supposed to show around? You coming or what?” Lizzie questioned a bit annoyed with her sister._

 

_“Oh yeah sorry, yeah let’s go,” Josie reply making her way to her sister, “What’s her name again.”_

 

_“It’s like Penelope or something like that.”_

 

 

That had been the last time Josie had touched her guitar and notebook, hiding them away with her feelings for Hope in her closet as well, _oh the irony._ Josie looked down at the words she once wrote and she could feel her heart flutter again like it used to back then. Reading over those words Josie realizes she still feels every emotion behind those words even now. As much as she wishes she could deny, she was falling all over again for Hope Mikaelson.

 

Josie let out a deep sigh as she fell back into her desk chair, what was she going to do? With her mind racing again Josie’s gaze fell back to her guitar then back to her old notebook. She needed to sort through her thoughts and emotions and she knew exactly how to do that. Josie grabbed her guitar in one hand and note book in the other as she headed for the door taking one last glance at her clock * _8:27pm*_ _okay I’ve got plenty of time before curfew._ Josie thought to herself as she headed out to the one spot she knew she could play and write in peace, the one place where no one would hear her play at this time at night.

 

Well, at least that’s what she thought.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I'm always apologizing to you all for how long it takes me to update, sorry! 
> 
> If you noticed, yes this is now a 3 part story because while writing part 2 I realized this was getting extremely long and I wanted to put something out for you all to read. So yes this is now a 3 part story, yay! 
> 
> As always, apologies for any spelling or grammatical errors. Thank you for clicking on this story and I hope you all enjoy!

When Josie finally made it to the mill she went straight up to the second floor loft. She took a seat on one of the couches and immediately flipped open her notebook as she began writing. Josie tried to get as many of her thoughts as possible onto the pages in front of her, everything she was feeling, everything she was thinking when it came to Hope. Josie knew she loved Hope but she couldn’t right now, she shouldn’t, not while Hope was still with Landon and not when they just now became good friends. She finally had Hope in her life after a decade of trying, she was finally letting her in and Josie wasn’t willing to lose that.

 

When she finished writing everything all out, Josie just stared at the words she had written, her brain starting to piece some things together. She turned to a new page as she started rearranging the different verses, crossing things out, rewriting them andallowing her words to flow better as a song. Her mind finally starting to settle as the words start to make sense on the page. Josie releases a sigh as she puts her pen down and reads over her words once again, happy with how they flowed together and how they perfectly portrayed how she’s been feeling towards Hope for so long.

 

Josie paused for a moment, she did feel a little better, her mind was a bit more calm but it didn’t feel like enough. There was still this ache in her chest, like she was still holding something back. Josie turned to her guitar as an idea came to her mind but she quickly began debating on what she wanted to do. She was seriously contemplating on if she wanted to try and turn this into a real song or not. Although she’s been writing and playing for a couple of years now, she hasn’t actually written her own song before. Yes technically she has written lyrics before and she has made her own melody before but she hasn’t combined them, this would be her first real song. And you know if this was going to be her first song of course it would be about Hope Mikaelson because why wouldn’t it be.

 

With her notebook in hand, Josie once again scans over her words, still trying to figure out how she wanted to approach this song. Should she just start strumming some random chords and see what sticks, maybe she should go with something she’s written before like the first one she’s ever put together. It had been an assignment given by her music teacher, she had challenged the class to try and create their own melody with the chords that they had learned during the semester then perform it. Pretty much everyone in class had created very simple melodies including Josie but of course Josie had to be a little extra as her song was very simple yet a little complicated if it made sense.

 

Thinking back on it now, Josie realizes that melody reflects a lot on how Hope make’s Josie feel. It’s so simple and steady, like a heartbeat, it was calming when you heard it but had these added guitar licks that felt little spikes in your heart beat that seemed to just pop up and hit you. How she felt for Hope was simple yet complicated. She really liked Hope and she cares about her plain and simple. Hope had this uncanny ability to make Josie feel nervous but also safe, calm and steady. She may not have supernatural hearing but just being around Hope it was almost as if Josie could feel her heart beat and she instantly knew she would be okay. There were these pauses and emphasized guitar licks in the melody that resembled those moments how Hope made her heart race but it also emphasized how at moments Josie felt like she had to stop herself from falling for Hope. The melody was simple yet a little bit complicated and it was absolutely perfect for the lyrics she just wrote down.

 

Josie looks back at her guitar once again, this time, quickly taking it in her hands as she began to strum the familiar melody. She smiles to herself as everything started coming back to her. With the melody in mind and lyrics in front of her, Josie starts to shape the song and put it all together, getting completely lost in her music.

 

————————————————————————————————————

 

It had been a long day for Hope, well more like a long week, things with Landon have been a bit rocky since their spring break adventures. So much had happened that now Hope’s emotions were thrown for a loop and her brain was almost spinning. She really cared about Landon, maybe even loved him, but the shit he pulled that put himself and the other boys in that deadly situation wasn’t sitting right with her.

 

Rafael told Hope everything that happened on the boys trip, how Landon pushed MG to do something the vamp wasn’t ready for and didn’t necessarily want to do. How even though it wasn’t necessarily intentional, Landon had manipulated MG to do what he wanted to do, what he wished he could do. Even when Raf had warned Landon it wasn’t a good idea and how they needed to get back to school for their own protection, Landon ignored him. It was Landon’s fault the boys all suffered some sort of trauma, he was the reason why MG was so broken hearted and almost died. He’s the reason why Raf’s wolf and human sides were so out of sync now. Looking at all of this, Hope couldn’t really defend Landon’s actions or justify them and even if she could, she didn’t want to.

 

All of this made Hope question their relationship. What if Landon put her through a similar situation, how would she react to Landon pushing her to do something just because it’s something he wanted. Yeah MG is different, he’s their friend so maybe Landon wouldn’t do the same thing he did to him as he would do to Hope but what about Raf? He’s Landon’s best friend and brother and yet he didn’t listen to him and Landon even put him in a difficult situation. Would it be any different with her?

 

Then there was the whole Josie situation. Hope was completely caught off guard by Josie’s confession. She was so hurt to find out Josie was the reason there had been a rift between her and Lizzie, it hurt especially because it felt like Josie actually cared about Hope. Hope thought she could trust Josie, but that moment in the car, that realization of what Josie had done Hope didn’t know what to think. Then actually hearing why Josie did it though made Hope do a complete 180.

 

Surprised would be an understatement, but looking back on it now it all does make sense. The two of them have always had a bit of a connection and compared to everyone else, Josie was always the nicest and most caring person when it came to Hope. Hope just chalked that up to Josie being a genuinely nice person but nope, Josie acted the way she did not only because she’s a good person but because she truly cared about Hope. Hearing those words from Josie had brought a smile to Hope’s face; in that moment it felt like Hope could forgive everything else Josie did because she understood why Josie did it. Her actions weren’t done because of some hate she had towards Hope, it was because she cared too much and was too afraid of heartbreak. Although still in a state of shock Hope had asked Josie for confirmation that she really understood what Josie had said, “You had a crush on me?”

 

When Josie looked back at Hope and replied, “Of course I did. Who wouldn’t?” Hope’s smile got a little wider and something just sort of clicked inside of her, she just wasn’t exactly sure what it all meant. 

 

After that day everything seemed to go back to normal but for Hope, she didn’t know if it could. Hope has always payed attention to Josie, she’s always been able to hear the younger girl but she just hasn’t always acted on what she would notice. Giving Josie the talisman would be the best evidence of her following through on what she saw. After this whole revelation of past feelings Hope started to think back on her own and think about what things meant now. If she had to call her pass feelings for Josie something, she would have to label it as a crush. She’s always been fond of the girl and to be perfectly honest even now being around Josie made Hope feel things no one else has been able to.

 

Josie could make Hope’s heart beat just a little faster whenever she walked into a room, she could make Hope’s smile actually reach all the way to her eyes like the once did when she was a child. Now with Josie’s past feelings out in the open, Hope can’t help herself, every touch between them seemed to last a little longer and every time they locked eyes Hope couldn’t look away. The nagging thought in the back of her mind wondering, how does Josie feel about her now?

 

Then it seemed like Josie started to become more distant and was just overall avoiding Hope. Did she do something wrong? Was Josie afraid Hope hadn’t forgiven her for the fire? Hope didn’t understand why Josie was pulling away and she couldn’t explain why it hurt so much.

 

When Landon commented on Hope’s depressed mood, she kind of snapped at him, which led to a fun fight between the couple. Hope couldn’t take it, she had way too much running through her mind and after everything that happened this past week, she just had to make it stop.

 

So she broke up with Landon.

 

It hurt but not in the way she thought it would, she felt guilty and heartbroken when Landon looked at her like she just committed the ultimate betrayal. For a moment she started to feel this panic like did she just make the biggest mistake of her life but deep down she knew it was the right thing to do. Just everything again just seemed to be hitting her all at once yet again. So she headed towards Dr. Saltzman’s office and quickly asked for his approval to go for a run, he had barely gotten out his “Yes” before Hope was running outside to do the one thing she knew could help her calm her emotions and clear her mind.

 

Hope headed straight for the edge of the woods, she walked over to her go to spot, this little clearing just past the old mill and stripped off her closed to turn. Then she ran, she ran and ran until her lungs were burning with every breathand her legs felt like they were going to start to shake.

 

That’s how she ended up here, in possibly the farthest edge of the woods she’s ever travelled in her wolf form panting as she finally came to a stop. Hope took a deep breath and howled releasing everything that seemed to be weighing her down and clouding her mind. Feeling content with her earlier decision and feeling lighter and more free, Hope began the trek back towards school. When she shifted back and checked her watch it was _*10:15pm* okay cool got plenty of time to make it back before curfew._ Hope begins her walk back to campus, when she sees the mill in her line of sight then her ears perk up to a sudden noise.

 

Hope freezes at the sound of a guitar being strummed, it catches her off guard at first hearing someone playing out in the woods so close to curfew, then her breathe catches in her throat once she realizes she knows the melody. Well she sort of knows the melody, Hope can’t tell you where song it is from, but she can tell you the first time she heard it played.

 

It had been about three years ago _*FLASHBACK*_

 

_It was just another beautiful spring day at the Salvatore School, Hope had a free period after lunch so she decided she would read outside before her next class. Hope was headed towards the garden area on the backside of the school, when the sudden sound of a guitar caught her attention._

 

_She was so confused where the sound was coming from, she hadn’t noticed anyone playing on her way outside and no one around her had a guitar with them. This struck Hope as rather odd until she realized the sound was coming above her thru an open window. It surprised Hope, that wasn’t someones dorm room, those were on the other side of campus. And the music room was on the first floor, oh wait that’s right they temporarily moved all the instruments to the second floor after that “incident” in Spells 101 caused a flood that seeped into the music room right next door._

 

_Hope stood still for a few moments just taking in the melody being played above her, she didn’t know why but she was mesmerized by the sound. It was such a simple yet calming tune, it was like Hope was at peace just listening to the guitar being played. Her book completely forgotten, Hope decided to sit up against the building and just listen to the song. She tucked her knees up to her chest, let her head fall back against the wall, shut her eyes and just took the music in. After a while Hope realized she couldn’t recognize the tune, it was good with a steady beat that made Hope want to tap her foot or snap her fingers but it didn’t seem like any song she had heard before. Hope could pick up the slight pauses and little mistakes or maybe changes the musician would make, causing Hope to assume whoever was playing was still practicing and perfecting the song. Maybe it was their own song that they were working on._

 

_She couldn’t tell you when it happened but Hope fell into this state of tranquility where nothing else around her mattered. Hope was so mesmerized she hadn’t realized how long she had been sitting there until she heard the bell ring signaling the end of the class period. Hope opened her eyes at the sudden sound of the bell and the abrupt silence from the guitar, Hope slowly rose from her spot against the wall and looked up at the open window the sound of a shutting door indicating the mystery musician had left the room. Hope was a little disappointed her free period was over but shrugged it off, she had enjoyed the bit of peace she got listening to the calming tune and in a way felt refreshed ready for the rest of her day._

 

_The next day, Hope once again tried to head out to the garden to read her book when the sound of a guitar caught her attention once again. A smile was plastered on her face hearing that song being played for the second day in a row. Without a second thought, Hope took a seat in the same spot as the day before and just let herself escape into the sound of that guitar. For the rest of the week Hope would spend her free period in that same spot outside just listening to the unknown musician play. It honestly became the best part of Hope’s day and probably her new favorite song as well. Hope would smile a little wider when she would notice the unknown musician got through the song without any mistakes, she would feel almost this sense of pride for them. She’d get excited when she heard them add some new cords, these extra little guitar licks, for some reason it all just made her a little happier._

 

_When Monday rolls back around, Hope hesitates to go outside for her free period as she looks down the hallway towards the staircase. Her curiosity got the best of her over the weekend as she wondered who the mystery musician could be. She had attempted to research what that song could possibly be from but ultimately she found nothing. She looked towards the staircase debating on what she should do. Would it be awkward to find out who this mystery musician was or would Hope reach total creeper status when she has to tell them why she had been listening to them play for the past week. Hope took a deep breathe before she headed up the stairs to the second floor. For some reason Hope felt nervous, for what reason she wasn’t entirely sure, but she anxiously played with the hem of her shirt as she approached the makeshift music room. She took another deep breathe before Hope peered into the room from the window next to the door, Hope’s shoulders fell when she found no one was in the room. For the next few days Hope would come back and check to see if her mystery musician was back playing but every time she checked no one was there. When Friday rolled around and there was still no sign of the musician Hope decided that it just must not have been meant to be and Hope went back to her normal routine. Every now and then Hope would hum that calming melody but eventually it faded to the back of her memory just hiding away until the day she might hear it once again._

 

Hope takes in a sharp breathe as she looks over at the mill. She starts to take a step towards the building but she hesitates as the memory of that song hits her, she honestly never knew if she would hear that song again or find out who it was that played that sweet tune. Not wanting to miss out on finding out more about the song and the musician, Hope starts to head towards the mill as that same nervous and anxious feeling she felt three years ago began to consume her once again.

 

As Hope approached the mill and the guitar becomes louder in her ears, Hope felt that calming feeling flow through her once again. She took a seat next to the mill and just listened like she had done on the school wall. After a few moments of guitar strumming, Hope could hear a person humming along and then she started to hear a familiar voice and just as she started to stand up leaning against the warn down building did Hope realize who it was, “Josie?” Hope questioned out loud in a whisper, releasing it like she had taken a breathe. She smiled as she listened to the younger girl play the familiar melody realizing it had to have been Josie who played it back then.

 

_I don't want to let it show but I still love you_

_And how do I let you know if I can't call you?_

_And I don't want to be alone, no not tonight and I don't want to feel this blue_

_How do I let you go if I don't want to?_

 

Hope was mesmerized by the song and it felt like she was being drawn in as she slowly made her way to the staircase still intently listening to every word Josie sang.

 

_I double take at every phone that rings out of habit_

_I can't shake the little things, they're harder to manage, whoa_

_I can't bury the past, but I'll bury the hatchet_

_Can we just pretend that this never happened?_

 

Once again Hope feels herself hesitate as she freezes at the bottom of the staircase, taking in the words Josie was singing. She’s never heard these lyrics before which further confirms Hope’s suspicions that this is an original song that Josie wrote, so her attention gets caught up by the lyrics wondering the meaning behind them.

 

_Every little thing is reminding me of you_

_Guess I'll set fire to my whole room (Ah, ah, ah)_

 

Hope can’t help but smirk at that last lyric as she looks up towards the loft. Josie had no idea Hope was there so that definitely wasn’t supposed to be some joking jab at her because she caught her, but was it actually a reference to their past? She didn’t want to get her hopes up but to Hope it seemed like this song had to be about the two of them, especially with everything that has happened this past week. Hope couldn’t help herself she had to know more so she finally took the first step to head to the second floor.

 

_I don't want to let it show but I still love you_

_And how do I let you know if I can't call you?_

_And I don't want to be alone, no not tonight and I don't want to feel this blue_

_How do I let you go if I don't want to?_

 

_So what are you doing tonight?_

_'Cause I miss you and I_

_And I can't even lie I need you_

_I could get on a flight, I could make up the time_

_I know I'm out of line, can I see you?_

 

Hope had continued to slowly and quietly make her way up the stairs, not wanting to miss a single word or chord strummed and not wanting to disturb Josie. She took everything in and Hope could feel her heart rate start to speed up. If this really was about Josie’s feelings for Hope, then Josie does still care about her, she loves her but she didn’t feel like was allowed to. As she reaches the top of the stairs Hope finds Josie laying on her back on the couch, her eyes shut as she strums and sings her song, clearly unaware of her surrounds just completely lost in her music. Hope smiles a little wider at this, she’s always loved seeing Josie in her element, doing something she clearly loves doing.

 

_I don't want to let it show but I still love you_

_And how do I let you know if I can't call you?_

_And I don't want to be alone at night and I don't want to feel this blue_

_How do I let you go if I don't want to?_

_Baby how do I let you go if I don't want to?_

_How do I let you go if I don't want to?_

 

As Josie strums the final chord of the song and sings the final words, she moves her guitar and flips it over the arm rest her head is leaning on so it can rest on the other side of the couch. With a big sigh and her eyes still shut Josie lets her hands fall and rest on her stomach. Finally happy with how the song turned out and how at peace she was, that is until a familiar voice scared the crap out of her.

 

“Shouldn’t the lyrics say ‘ _I'll set fire to_ ** _your_** _whole room_ ’ since you know, you actually burned half of my room?” Hope questioned from the top of the staircase, making her presence known with her signature Mikaelson smirk plasters on her face.

 

Josie jumps at Hope’s words and practically lands on her face as she falls off the couch, “Hope?” She had let out when her eyes had opened to find Hope just staring at her.

 

Hope couldn’t help the slight chuckle that escaped her lips as she watched Josie basically jump off of the couch in surprise. She quickly made her way over the younger girl, kneeling next to her to make sure she was okay. With no clear signs Josie was actually hurt, Hope allowed herself to laugh as she stood up and helped Josie up along the way, “You okay Jo? Haha I’m sorry I didn’t mean to scare you.”

 

With cheeks red from embarrassment, Josie slapped Hope in the shoulder for her antics, “What are you doing up here!? You can’t just be sneaking up on people like that!” Josie adds in a few extra slaps.

 

Hope catches Josie’s hand before she can hit her for a fifth time as she looks her in the eyes. Josie takes in a sharp breath by Hopes actions as she realizes how close they were standing, only inches apart from one another. The softness in Hope’s eyes makes Josie relax as Hope tells her, “I’m sorry for scaring you but you shouldn’t be out here so close to curfew.”

 

Josie can feel her cheeks heating up even more, this time not from embarrassment, she slowly takes her hand back taking a few steps back from Hope as she softly speaks, “Well neither should you.”

 

“I actually have permission to be out here,” Hope answers her with a bit of a smug look on her face as she slowly makes her way closer to Josie. “I told your dad I needed to run and he’s typically okay with me being out past curfew since its safer for everyone else, I just got to be back in my room by midnight.”

 

“Oh okay,” Josie starts as she can feel the butter flies in her stomach going crazy, she looks down for a moment to try and regather her thoughts before she speaks again. “You still didn’t answer my question Hope, what are you doing up here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh cliff hanger, boo yeah I know I'm the worst! So, what do you all think?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes this is finally happening, I'm FINALLY back! I'm so sorry this took so long y'all, but I'm finally back from Europe and all of my crazy traveling and I'm back with the final part of this story. Thank you so much to all of you who have been patiently waiting for me to finish this story and hopefully this was worth the wait!
> 
> As always thank you so much for checking out my story and apologies for any and all spelling/grammatical errors!
> 
> I hope you all enjoy!

_“You still didn’t answer my question Hope, what are you doing up here?”_

 

Hope can hear Josie falter with her words, she’s curious but she’s also so vulnerable. Hope can tell she has the upper hand in this situation, even if it was just a hunch, Hope was pretty confident she knew Josie’s feelings for her but Josie had no idea what Hope was feeling. And as nervous as she was to talk to Josie about her feelings, she can tell Josie was doing much worse. She noticed Josie fidgeting with her fingers like she always does when she’s anxious especially in uncomfortable situations; so Hope decides right then and there, she’s going to have to take the lead on this conversation. Josie already confessed to her once about her feelings, now it was her turn.

 

“Well, like I said, I was out here running and I was actually headed back to school when I heard this guitar melody.” Hope starts her eyes glancing down at Josie’s guitar leaning up against the couch, “It caught my attention because well for one, I didn’t expect anyone else to be out here this late and two, I recognized the melody.”

 

This part caught Josie off guard, _Wait how did she recognize what I was playing, I’ve never played this for anyone before except for my music teacher and class._

 

Hope noticed the sudden change in Josie’s facial expression, clearly confused by what Hope had said so she continued to explain, “3 years ago I heard someone playing that melody when I was heading to the garden during my free period to read, it had caught my attention back then and I don’t know why but I felt so at peace when I first heard it, it kind of stuck with me. I literally sat outside and just listened to that melody being played for an entire week. I had tried looking it up and tried to figure out what song it came from but I came up with nothing, so I figured who ever it was who was playing it, must have written it themselves.”

 

Josie’s heart started to race remembering that week Hope just described, she knew exactly what she was talking about. That was the week before her big song presentation and Josie used pretty much any and all of her free time practicing her song. She had a free period at the same time as Hope and she would escape to the makeshift music room to practice not wanting to be disturbed by anyone and too shy to have anyone hear her play. At this point Josie was pretty sure her heart was about to beat out of her chest because, Hope had been listening to her play for a week and she had no idea. Hope liked her song so much she sat in the same spot just to listen to her play. Josie’s mind was racing with so many thoughts about the past but she was quickly pulled from her thoughts as Hope started to speak once again.

 

“I honestly fell in love with the simplicity of the song, it just I guess made me feel at ease.” Josie was sure by now her cheeks were a permanent shade of red as she took in Hope’s words and this just sincere look in Hope’s eyes made her want to melt. “And I um, I actually tried to find out who was playing that song by the way.”

 

“You- you did?” Josie let out a bit shocked.

 

“Yeah, after a week of listening to that melody and not being able to find out where it came from my curiosity got the better of me. So that following Monday I went up to that makeshift music room hoping to find out who my mystery musician was, only to find no one was there.” It was Hope’s turn to blush a little as she admitted her slight fan girl moment of hoping to find her mystery musician, she stuffed her hands in her jean pockets as she looked down and continued. “I actually kept going back to that room for the rest of the week hoping maybe I would catch who ever it was but I never did.”

 

Josie just looked at Hope in awe, having no idea any of this had been going on. Josie had presented her song that Monday morning, volunteering to be one of the first to go, so once she did she didn’t need to practice anymore. If she hadn’t volunteered to be one of the first, if she would have gone on Tuesday or Wednesday Hope would have found her practicing. Josie was at a loss for words as she just stared at Hope imagining what could have been. Hope looked back up at Josie shyly as she spoke up again, “It was you wasn’t it, that was your song I heard three years ago, it’s the same one you were playing tonight.”

 

Josie just nodded her head still a bit stunned, “Yeah that was my song.” Josie answered as a small smile appeared on Hope’s lips, but Josie continued to look at Hope in a daze, “Hope I had no idea.”

 

Hope simply shrugs it off as she continues to look Josie in the eyes. “It’s okay Jo. I mean it’s not like I expected you to know you had your own fan girl who was enjoying your music as they sat up against the school wall.” Hope comments with a bit of a chuckle that puts Josie at ease as she loosens up a bit. There is a comfortable silence between them as they both look away from one another. Then Hope asks a question that brings on the nerves once again as Josie looks to meet her eyes with Hope’s as she speaks, “Did you really write that whole song three years ago? It’s really good but I don’t ever remember hearing you sing.”

 

“Umm no well, the melody was from three years ago, it had been an assignment for my music class. The lyrics, umm.” Josie pauses for a moment, unsure if she should actually tell Hope the truth. She didn’t want to keep secrets from Hope, especially after everything that happened before but it terrified her that this could ruin everything between them. Josie never intended for Hope to hear her song. She didn’t plan on anyone hearing her song, but of course, Hope did. Josie looked down at her feet as she took a deep breathe, trying to calm herself and figure out what she wanted to say. She didn’t look up until she noticed Hope had taken a step in front of her as her fingers on her right hand began to tug on Josie’s left hand, pulling it closer to the older girl as she interlocked their fingers together.

 

Josie looked up to find those gorgeous blue eyes that just made her want to melt, honestly Josie could get lost for hours just staring into Hope’s eyes. There is something different about Hope’s eyes though that Josie notices, they are soft and vulnerable. Josie has never seen this in Hope’s eyes, there has always been this fire and determination to them whenever they are in a fight, sometimes there is this sort of calmness to them when Josie would see her reading and at rare times Josie notices the pain behind them. She knows the older girl has suffered through a lot and had so much heart break, yet Hope has never really shown it. Well not in front of anyone at school anyways, Hope has always had this barrier behind her eyes guarding her soul but right now, right now she’s letting herself be open to Josie. So Josie decides she will be open with Hope as well.

 

She takes a breath before she explains, “I wrote the lyrics about two years ago and then I kind of forgot about the song until tonight when I found my old notebook. I had a lot running through my mind and I just finally finished it.”

 

There is another pause between the two of them as the silence fills the air between them. “You started writing that two years ago?” Hope questions, the wheels clearly turning in her brain trying to put this whole timeline together.

 

“Yeah.” Josie doesn’t really know what else to say as she just looks at Hope processing what she has said.

 

Then it hits Hope like a lightbulb turning on as she tries to recall the lyrics she heard Josie singing not that long ago:

 

_So what are you doing tonight?_

_'Cause I miss you and I_

_And I can't even lie I need you_

_I could get on a flight, I could make up the time_

_I know I'm out of line, can I see you?_

 

Two years ago, was when Hope’s life changed forever, and she was practically MIA to everyone at school. All anyone had known for the longest time was just that she was back in New Orleans and that was about it. Before she basically had disappeared Hope and Josie were actually becoming kind of close, they had been partners in a few of their classes and would have casual conversations here and there outside of class and always said hi to one another in the hallways with a smile. They were small little moments that Hope would always walk away from with a smile on her face. It was simple and easy but for some reason it always felt like there was a line between them that they just couldn’t cross but Hope wanted to and was ready to cross that line, then everything changed. Listening to Josie’s song Hope felt like it just had to be about Josie’s feeling for her and if those lyrics are any indication then Josie had missed Hope back then to the point where she was ready to fly down to New Orleans for her. Hope looked up at Josie who was staring at her, she could tell Hope was deep in thought and she was anxiously waiting to hear what she had to say.

 

“So two years ago,” Hope repeated as more of a statement before looking Josie in the eye as she asked, “as in when I left school and went back to New Orleans?”

 

Josie knew this was coming but she still couldn’t stop the swirl of emotions running through her. She gently pulls her hand out of Hope’s grip as she sticks her hands into her pockets as her head drops and she whispers out a simple, “Yes.”

 

Hope hated seeing Josie like this, so scared and vulnerable, she hated how Josie was literally pulling away from her when all Hope wanted to do was pull her close. Hope raises her hand up to Josie’s chin to try and get the younger girl to look at her, to see in her eyes that there was no judgement, that Josie shouldn’t look away from her. When their eyes meet once again Hope suddenly doesn’t know what words to say, there are so many things Hope wants to say, so many things she wants to ask her but when Josie finally looks her in the eye Hope asks her, “Jo can you play that song again?”

 

Josie tenses, she’s pretty sure Hope has figured it out but, she can’t be certain. Josie is 100% confident though that Hope will know for sure that this song is about her if she plays it again and that just terrifies her. Josie’s mind is spinning, every possible scenario running through her brain of what could happen if Hope knew and even if it could end in that fairytale ending she was hoping for, she just can’t take that chance. Even though Hope has put her at ease in moments tonight, even though she has felt at times maybe Hope felt the same way, there just was no guarantee. So Josie did the one thing she thought was her only option, avoid the situation and run.

 

“We really should be headed back to school now, right? Like you said it’s almost curfew, maybe some other time.” Josie stutters out as she steps back from Hope, anxiously trying to get away from this whole situation, Josie was ready to crawl under a rock and never come out. Hope just stood there as she grabbed her guitar and other belongs, this look of almost hurt, maybe disappointment written across her face.

 

Hope watches Josie stick her remaining items into her backpack, zipping it up as she begins to make her way to the staircase. “I have an answer to your question.” Hope speaks up just before Josie could start to head down the stairs.

 

“What question?” Josie responds just before getting to the staircase still a little distracted trying to get out of the old mill as fast as possible before she dies of embarrassment .

 

“How do I let you go if I don't want to?” Josie freezes and almost drops all of her things at Hope’s answer. As she slowly looks up back at Hope, Josie can feel her heart pounding at the girls words as panic starts to take over. Her mouth goes dry as she looks at Hope who is still just standing next to the couch, Josie tries to swallow practically making a gulp noise before she speaks up. “Oh um okay,” Josie manages to get out as she takes a step closer to Hope and away from the staircase. Now fully invested in finding out Hope’s answer, “What is it?”

 

Hope looks Josie in the eyes with the most sincere look as she simply states, “Don’t let go.”

 

“Wh-what?” Josie stumbles over her reaction as she actually drops her backpack onto the ground. The word comes out as more of a whisper than Josie expected, as she actually shakes her head thinking she heard Hope wrong. Clear confusion and disbelief is shown in Josie’s eyes as she just stars at Hope. With a soft smile on her lips, Hope starts to make her way closer to Josie who just seems completely frozen in place by the top of the staircase.

 

“If you don’t want to, don’t do it. Don’t let go, because you don’t have to.” Hope stops when they are only inches apart from one another. They were so close they were no longer just breathing in oxygen, they were breathing each other in. Josie couldn’t say a word, she could barely breath, everything in her just seemed to stop. Never breaking eyes contact, Hope reaches up and brushes her hand against Josie’s arm and goosebumps instantly appear from Hope’s touch as she moves it down to take a hold of Josie’s guitar. Hope can feel Josie slowly loosen her grip as Hope takes it in her grasp and moves it to lean on the railing next to the staircase. Then Hope takes both of Josie’s hands into her own before she continues.

 

“Please don’t let go,” Hope starts, her voice barely above a whisper, as the words come out like a desperate plea. Hope starts to lean in until their foreheads rest against each other, both of their eyes shutting at the contact. Hope pauses her words as she releases her right hand from Josie’s now placing it right under her jawline, allowing her fingers to tangle into Josie’s hair as her thumb skims against her cheek. Josie takes in a sharp breath as their eyes meet once again just as Hope begins to speak. “Please don’t let go, because I’m ready to hold on for dear life.”

 

For as split second Josie hesitates to lean in, still in utter disbelief that any of this is real, but as she gazes into those ocean blue eyes Josie doesn’t question it and leans in those final few inches separating them. It’s cliche and super romcom cheesy for sure but Josie swears the moment their lips connect she can hear the fireworks going off in her head. She’s never felt like this before when she’s kissed someone, it feels amazing and there is this connection between her and Hope she just can’t even describe. The kiss is slow and sweet, yet filled with so much emotion behind it. Josie tangles her hands in Hope’s hair trying to deepen the kiss as Hope pulls Josie in as close as possible with her hand still cupping her cheek as she other hand tugs on the younger girls waist.

 

Hope can feel this hunger and desperation starting to rise within her. She wants Josie, she wants to show her how much she means to her, she wants to make Josie feel good and safe, she wants to make Josie hers but Hope stops herself. As badly as Hope wants to show Josie how she is feeling, she knows she has to use her words first, so Hope slowly breaks the kiss and begins to pull back from Josie, letting their foreheads rest on each others like they did before.

 

They both take a moment to catch their breath, still standing in their same position not daring to move or break the contact between them. Josie’s hands are still tangled in Hope’s hair as Hope holds their bodies flush against each other with her grip on Josie’s waste. Their eyes remained shut as another minute of silence passes them as they just took this moment in, almost too afraid to ruin it. That didn’t last too long however as Josie’s brain started to process what just happened, so she speaks up breaking the silence.

 

“Hope-“ She starts but Hope quickly cuts her off causing them both to open their eyes and pull away from one another just enough to look into the others eyes.

 

“No Jo please let me talk first, you’ve been honest and open with me, let me do the same.” Hope tells her as she brushes her thumb against Josie’s cheek.

 

Josie stays silent and simply nods her head accepting Hope’s request and telling her to go on, as she let her hands fall from Hope’s hair to the older girls waist. Hope takes a breath as she tangles her other hand in Josie’s hair as she cups her cheek mirroring her hand on the other side of Josie’s face.

 

“Jo I haven’t been able to get you off my mind since we got back from our trip. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about what you said, about what happened that day you wrote me that note.” Josie immediately feels the guilt over take her once again thinking about how she destroyed half of Hope’s room causing her head and gaze to drop to the floor. Before she can pull away, Hope quickly picks up on Josie’s head with her left hand under her chin, so she could look her in the eyes once again as she continues to speak. “And it’s not because of what you did but why you did it. All I can think about is what would have happened if I had found that note.”

 

Josie looks at Hope with confused yet hopeful eyes, she’s not sure where Hope was going with this but by her tone and the way Hope was holding her Josie was praying it was going to be good. So she remains silent and takes in every word as Hope continues.

 

“Thinking back on everything, thinking back to everything we’ve been through since I first got to this school, I think I’ve always known that there was something between us. I just never understood what it all meant. You are one of the few people I’ve ever opened up to, one of the few people I’ve ever gone to if I’ve needed help and I finally now understand why. Josie Saltzman, I really like you, I like you a lot more than just a friend and I’m pretty sure I’ve felt this way for a long time. It just took me a minute to finally listen to myself.”

 

Josie’s heart was racing once again from Hope’s words and her mind was now spinning because, _OH MY GOD IS THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENING._ Then a sad thought popped into her head, but as if she could read her mind Hope continues.

 

“And before you even ask, what I feel for you is more than anything I’ve ever felt for Landon. He’s never made me feel this way and there were so many conflicting issues between us, it was never going to work. That’s why I broke up with him.”

 

“You broke up with Landon?” Josie asked almost more shocked by this information than by Hope’s confession about her feelings.

 

“Yeah I did because, there was no point in me staying with him when I knew I didn’t love him and there was someone else who was starting to take hold of my heart.” Hope answers her with a small smile on her lips as she rubbed both of her thumbs on the sides of Josie’s face. Hope looks at Josie lovingly before she averts her gaze to the floor as she takes a deep breathe. When she looks back up at Josie, she immediately knows what she wants to say next as this new found confidence fills her.

 

“Look I know this is a lot for me to just suddenly drop onto you but you were honest with me about how you felt all those years ago and I thought you deserved to know the truth about how I feel about you now. And look it’s okay if you don’t feel the same way…but if I’m correct about who and what that song of yours is about…” Hope hesitates continuing on, taking a moment to search Josie’s eyes for some sort of answer, which causes Josie’s eyes out of reflex to look away in embarrassment. It hurt for a moment and caused Hope to stutter as she continued, “But umm if you do feel the same, I really would love to take you out of a date sometime Josie.”

 

You could hear a pin drop as the silence over took the both of them. Hope had never felt this nervous in her life and now she was starting to regret saying anything, _did I really just fuck this up._ Before Hope could back track and say anything else, Josie meets her gaze then pulls Hope in for another kiss, finally giving the older girl her answer. Causing Hope to physically sigh in relief into Josie’s touch. The kiss doesn’t last long but it honestly felt just as amazing as their first. As the two pull away and meet each others gaze, neither one of them can wipe the huge smiles from their faces.

 

“The song was about you,” Josie finally speaks as she begins to answer Hope’s questions. Josie bites her lip as she glances down from Hope’s eyes to her lips before she speaks again, “and I would love to go on a date with you Hope.”

 

Hope’s smile grew a little wider hearing Josie’s answer and she leans in for a quick kiss out of pure happiness. This whole moment doesn’t seem real and Hope honestly wouldn’t have been surprised if it was all a dream. As they pulled away from each other once again all Hope could do was stare at this amazing young woman in front of her as she thanked what ever supernatural or higher being allowed her to be this lucky. The two of them just stood there in silence once again completely happy in this moment when a thought ran through Hope’s head.

 

“So you going to change those lyrics to ‘I'll set fire to **your** whole room’?” Hope asks with that smirk on her lips, teasing the younger girl in front of her.

 

Josie’s mouth drops open with a shocked yet playful expression on her face as she punches Hope in the shoulder, “Shut up Mikaelson.”

 

But Hope is still looking at her with that damn smirk on her face. Josie goes to push Hope’s shoulder again but Hope catches Josie’s hand with her own, taking the younger girl by surprise as she pulls her in even closer. Josie forgets to breath for a moment as Hope snakes her other arm around Josie’s waist just as she whispers, “Make me Saltzman.”

 

Without hesitation Josie accepts Hope’s challenge and quickly shuts her up with her lips as she’s met with Hope’s for another passionate kiss. Hope released her grip on Josie’s hand so she could completely wrap Josie up in her arms, allowing the younger girl to tangle her fingers in Hope’s hair. This seemed to come so natural to them, it was like they knew exactly how the others lips wanted to move like they have been doing this for years, like they were made for one another. When they finally break their kiss resting their foreheads together desperate for air, the two remained still, not daring to break away from the others grasp. As Josie stood there in Hope’s arms the young witch couldn’t help but think, _I don’t ever want to let this girl go, I don’t want to, because I’m definitely in love and I’m ready to hold on forever._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap! Hope you all enjoyed and hopefully this all makes sense, I'm seriously jet lagged from the 9 hour time difference and I honestly can't tell if any of this makes sense or not. Please let me in the comments section if I totally fucked this up and need to reedit this chapter or if its actually okay. 
> 
> Thank you all again for reading and for checking out all of my other stories! Love you guys!


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